Studio

So the past week I have been testing out the "studio" some with Lexi. It's impossible to get a little babe to sit still once they are mobile! Yes, I should have dressed her up cuter and tried all kinds of angles, but especially when it's just me, it just doesn't happen. There are so many things that go into the perfect shot. And I don't always get my stuff together & Lexi together when the lighting is just right. But because it's Lexi, we can forgive my mother & photographer shortcomings and just see how cute she is. 

Even if I didn't actually set up the backdrop . . .

These two pictures were shot at the same angle, but you can see how lighting makes a difference!

The windows were open on the right, which is why then you see the shadow on the left side of her face. If only my assistant held up the reflector… I prefer the lighting on the right because it's more realistic, everything seems more flat on the left, but there is more I could do in both cases to make the pictures better. I could pick both pictures apart easy so don't get me started.

The camel & ivory faux fur came in the mail last week. I LOVE THEM. preparing for newborns.

I also stained & poly'd the crate last week as the newest prop addition.

Can you see the top tooth? She just has one on top. Sorry I didn't do better than the headband.

She says mama, dada, and baba pretty regularly. A friend said her daughter was already saying phrases like "all done" & "Jesus" - good word they are ahead of the gang. Lexi still loves strangers & is better at the whole mother separation thing. Although she would still prefer to be carried everywhere, she is okay with playing alone and then crawling from room to room. She will act up when she doesn't get something she wants… like the scissors I am using…the spoon, etc... I'm pretty sure she is beginning to know what "no" means in the sense that she looks at me when I tell her not to put that in her mouth. She will stare back at it and then look at me again and then put it in her mouth =) She will let you know when she wants more food. One day I will video her "communication" for more food as well as this sassy face she makes by closing her mouth & blowing in and out of her nose. 

Daddy actually gave her a whole fruit snack for the first time today. She eats full bites of chicken, fish, vegetables, noodles…she does pretty well. She is great with picking up her food. We just stay away from the crunchy stuff that doesn't dissolve quickly. I think I forgot to document when she got pretty good at the Cheerio pick up and now I can't remember. I just feed her banana like an adult because that is asking for a disaster. Those pieces never make it to her mouth. I feel like as parents, we limit them because we are so cautious and worry they can't handle it. I feel like I will struggle with this her whole life, how to prepare her but not limit her. If we don't let them try, then they can't perfect it. I have to let her fall in a way so that she knows how to go from standing to sitting. I just have to make sure she doesn't hit her head… 

The last several nights she has slept through the night. We let her cry it out a few days ago and so far it's proving successful. Since we knew she wasn't sick nor in any real pain anymore, we were done with her midnight or 2 am wake up calls. So she goes from 730-8PM to around 7:30AM. Sometimes she even goes back to bed after nursing for another hour; I looove any chance to sleep in =)

Some current favorite things: being chased by dad in mom's arms, being scared by dad in mom's arms, twirling, "falling", being outside (or mostly just watching it from the window), pulling random kitchen items out of a drawer, having her hands and feet "bitten", putting things in her mouth (loves the strings on our sweatshirts), snacking & people watching. She doesn't cuddle much unless you get her really tired but distracted enough to stay up and she might fall asleep on you, mostly she will just rest her head on you for a few seconds and it's the best! Mom & dad love when Lexi decides to take a nap on them, but it's rare! currently working on: getting better at turning on&off the lights & waving hello/goodbye

 

It's hard to get her to lay or sit down for photos. She is always on the move. Even if she still doesn't pick her stomach up off the ground when she crawls! But I guess that gives me a little longer before she is climbing up & down on stuff. I just love that last photo. Definitely wasn't going for a diaper & sharp shadows shot but you do what you can and even something like that captures a beautiful face.

I'm still waiting for Mr Smith to take mommy/daughter pictures. That's the other problem. I'm hardly dressed for a photoshoot once I finally do shoot. Man on man . . .

But motherhood is great. I'm still trying to set goals for myself and work on new projects. I'm going to start advertising for studio shoots end of the month & if I can get things going this year, Mr Smith is encouraging me to start an LLC. We are working on a new photo project - a newborn bed - made from a cherry tree. So exciting! I'm also working with the young women in the ward as Laurel's advisor so along with visiting teaching, I'm still socializing some =)